Talk about your happy homecomings. Playing his first collegiate game back in Bethlehem Joey Orlando caught the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime, a 25-yarder on the first play of the extra session and New Hampshire held off Lehigh for a 48-41 win here in a memorable game at Goodman Stadium. Orlando, a Liberty High grad, caught 10 passes for 166 yards and returned a punt for 56 yards and a score.

Lehigh got a career day from quarterback Chris Lum. He passed for more than 400 yards and tied a school-record with six touchdown passes, but it wasn't enough as UNH won the battle of nationally-ranked FCS teams.

UNH improves to 1-1 and Lehigh falls to 1-1.

3:59 p.m.

Game is over. Lum is intecepted on the final play. UNH posts a 48-41 victory in overtime, but a memorable day on so many levels, especially for the hometown boy Joey Orlando.

3:56 p.m.

Joey Orlando hauls in a 25-yard TD pass on the first play of overtime, a controversial catch because he appeared to be out of bounds. Nevertheless, it's UNH 48-41. Lehigh now gets the ball.

Lehigh kneels down. Going to OT tied at 41.

3:50 p.m.

Lehigh is going to get the ball back at its own 15 with 10 seconds remaining in regulation. Looks like OT.

3:40 p.m.

Lehigh is in UNH territory at the 40 with 1:25 left. Third down. Pass batted down. Lehigh will have to punt and hope for overtime.

3:33 p.m.

UNH gets a big 39-yard pass to set up a tying field goal. It's now 41-41 with 3;23 left in regulation.

3:26 p.m.

Lehigh has amazingly come back and gone in front on a sixth TD by Chris Lum, this one a pressure throw as he was hit, to Jake Drwal, who not only caught the pass but somehow escaped a UNH defender for the score. Lum hits Spadola on the 2-point conversion and it's Lehigh 41-38 with 4:35 left. Amazing stuff.

3:19 p.m.

Lehigh has the ball back and is on the move at the UNH 42 with 8:40 to play.

3:09 p.m.

Lum, despite his costly interceptions, is having a good day and continues to find open receivers. Lehigh is a fun team to watch offensively. It's the best offense here in a long time. They score again -- this time on a 3-yard TD pass from Lum to tailback Keith Sherman. They kick the PAT rather than go for two, and miss it. It's now 38-33 with 11:03 left. Missed PATs figure prominently in this game. The TD pass was a career-high 5th for Lum.

3:01 p.m.

UNH got another big catch from Orlando to keep a drive going, but a sack squelched the drive as the third quarter ends, Lehigh has the ball back.

2:56 p.m.

Lehigh took advantage of the fumble to get a much-needed touchdown. Chris Lum threw his fourth TD pass of the day, a 10-yarder to Jake Drwal, and it's now 38-27 with 2:10 left in the third. Now, obviously, a defensive stop is needed to keep momentum going.

2:51 p.m.

Lehigh got a much-needed turnover when they pried the ball free from Joey Orlando on a punt return and recovered the loose ball. First down for the Mountain Hawks at the UNH 11.

2:43 p.m.

We knew coming on that Lehigh would have to play a near-perfect game to beat New Hampshire. The Mountain Hawks have been far from perfect. Lehigh had a nice drive going, but Lum's badly overthrown pass was picked off in the end zone to end the drive. UNH has the ball back and a 38-20 lead with six minutes left in the third.

2:36 p.m.

Got to visit briefly with Brett Snyder (left), and Josh Snyder (right) at halftime. They're both former Northwestern High an Lehigh University standouts. They had a special tailgate before the game and more than $10,000 was raised for Brett's Tackle ALS campaign. More on the Snyders in a Morning Call story coming up soon, perhaps Monday morning.

2:30 p.m.

The rout, it seems, is on. UNH took advantage of the interception to connect for a touchdown pass and the Wildcats now lead 38-20. That's 24 unanswered points for UNH.

2:28 p.m.

Lum is picked off and all of a sudden UNH has taken control an looking to go up by as much as 18.

2:25 p.m.

This is precisely the homecoming Joey Orlando was looking for. The Liberty grad is on his way to a career-best performance. He just ran a punt back 56 yards for a touchdown UNH now leads 31-20.

2:22 p.m.

UNH had 283 yards of offense in first half, Lehigh had 239, but Lehigh goes three-and-out to start the second half.

1:58 p.m.

An entertaining first half is now over. Lehigh trails UNH 24-20. That missed PAT still haunts.

1:52 p.m.

Late in the first half here at Lehigh, and UNH just added a field goal to stretch its lead to 24-20. But it was a 10--play, 80-yard drive by the Wildcats. The Mountain Hawks get ball with 37 seconds left in the half. Might they take a few shots?

1:38 p.m.

The hometown boy, Joey Orlando, continues to have a big day. He caught a 17-yard TD pass from Decker for another UNH score and the Wildcats are back in front 21-20 with 7:16 left in the first half here at balmy Goodman Stadium.

1:25 p.m.

The back-and-forth offensive display continues. Lehigh is now back in front after Ryan Spadola hauled in a 12-yard TD pass from Lum. The PAT kick is good this time, and Lehigh leads 20-14.

1:16 p.m.

A second TD run by quarterback Kevin Decker and a successful PAT kick has given UNH a 14-13 lead with 14:05 left in the half. This was a 14-play, 75-yard drive for the Wildcats. Joey Orlando had another catch on the drive.

1:12 p.m.

First quarter is now over. Lehigh still leads 13-7, but UNH is driving.

1:04 p.m.

Zach Barket made a terrific grab in the end zone of a Chris Lum pass for a 10-yard touchown and Lehigh has a 13-7 lead. The PAT was blocked. Could be costly.

1 p.m.

After a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a punt gave UNH a first down, Lehigh came with pressure and a hit by Gabe Johnson caused a Bryan Andrews interception. So, the Mountain Hawks are in business at the UNH 20, looking to take the lead.

12:52 p.m.

Just as they did last week, Lehigh answered an opening score by the opponent with an impressive scoring drive of its own. The Mountain Hawks go 64 yards on 7 plays and score on a fourth-down screen pass covering 26 yards from Chris Lum to Zach Barket.

12:42 p.m.

UNH took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a touchdown. Liberty's Joey Orlando caught two passes on the drive, including a 32-yarder that set up the Wildcats at the Lehigh 1.

12:36 p.m.

We're set to get this much anticipated home opener started for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks won the toss, but deferred. So New Hampshire, featuring Freedom's Mike Coccia at center and Liberty's Joey Orlando at receiver will get the ball first. Remember, the UNH offensive coordinator is Central Catholic graduate Tim Cramsey.

Current Comments

GREAT game ! Terrific effort by both teams . Complete disgrace at the end . Orlando , who I'm thrilled to see had an outstanding game , was clearly several feet out of bounds . Side Judge standing right there ! Did they find that official at an 85 lb. game over at Alton Park ?

Posted By: CHEK | Sep 10, 2011 6:10:10 PM

Several feet? What game were you watching? He may or may not have been out but it wasn't several feet thats for sure.